Legal Empowerment Report

graphic of unbalanced scale of justice with community members picking up pieces

 

The Bernstein Institute for Human Rights is thrilled to share the launch of our global report, Exclusion in Practice: A Human Rights Analysis on the Legal Barriers to Advancing Community Justice. The report explores the power, promise, and struggles of community justice workers––human rights defenders who are KEY actors in the legal ecosystem.

In particular, the report brings visibility to harmful laws that restrict the ability of community justice workers to fully participate in justice efforts. Told through a mix of research, analysis, and 8 global case studies, the report unpacks how harmful laws that regulate legal practice exclude communities and violate human rights. The report outlines recommendations co-created by global legal empowerment practitioners that call for reform to strengthen access to justice, uplift the work of community justice workers, and build community power and participation.